New Century Version NCV
Good News Translation GNT
1 The destroyern is coming to attack you, Nineveh. Guard the defenses. Watch the road. Get ready. Gather all your strength!
1
Nineveh, you are under attack! The power that will shatter you has come. Prepare the defenses! Guard the road! Prepare for battle
2 Destroyers have destroyed God's people and ruined their vines, but the Lord will bring back Jacob's greatness like Israel's greatness.
2
(The Lord is about to restore the glory of Israel, as it was before her enemies plundered her.)
3 The shields of his soldiers are red; the army is dressed in red. The metal on the chariots flashes like fire when they are ready to attack; their horses are excited.
3
The enemy soldiers carry red shields and wear uniforms of red. They are preparing to attack! Their chariots flash like fire! Their horses prance!
4 The chariots race through the streets and rush back and forth through the city squares. They look like torches; they run like lightning.
4
Chariots dash wildly through the streets, rushing back and forth in the city squares. They flash like torches and dart about like lightning.
5 Hen calls his officers, but they stumble on the way. They hurry to the city wall, and the shield is put into place.
5
The officers are summoned; they stumble as they press forward. The attackers rush to the wall and set up the shield for the battering ram.
6 The river gates are thrown open, and the palace is destroyed.
6
The gates by the river burst open; the palace is filled with terror.
7 It has been announced that the people of Nineveh will be captured and carried away. The slave girls moan like doves and beat their breasts, because they are sad.
7
The queen is taken captive; her servants moan like doves and beat their breasts in sorrow.
8 Nineveh is like a pool, and now its water is draining away. "Stop! Stop!" the people yell, but no one turns back.
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Like water from a broken dam the people rush from Nineveh! "Stop! Stop!" the cry rings out - but no one turns back.
9 Take the silver! Take the gold! There is no end to the treasure -- piles of wealth of every kind.
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Plunder the silver! Plunder the gold! The city is full of treasure!
10 Nineveh is robbed, ruined, and destroyed. The people lose their courage, and their knees knock. Stomachs ache, and everyone's face grows pale.
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Nineveh is destroyed, deserted, desolate! Hearts melt with fear; knees tremble, strength is gone; faces grow pale.
11 Where is the lions' den and the place where they feed their young? Where did the lion, lioness, and cubs go without being afraid?
11
Where now is the city that was like a den of lions, the place where young lions were fed, where the lion and the lioness would go and their cubs would be safe?
12 The lion killed enough for his cubs, enough for his mate. He filled his cave with the animals he caught; he filled his den with meat he had killed.
12
The lion killed his prey and tore it to pieces for his mate and her cubs; he filled his den with torn flesh.
13 "I am against you, Nineveh," says the Lord All-Powerful. "I will burn up your chariots in smoke, and the sword will kill your young lions. I will stop you from hunting down others on the earth, and your messengers' voices will no longer be heard."
13
"I am your enemy!" says the Lord Almighty. "I will burn up your chariots. Your soldiers will be killed in war, and I will take away everything that you took from others. The demands of your envoys will no longer be heard."
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.